That'll Do Pig...That'll Do.

We were rubbish last year. We failed to get presents off in time, and completely ballsed up on the Christmas cards, getting only a handful out. We've done a lot better this time around. All the presents have been bought, and those that needed to be sent have been. About 98% of the cards are in the "capable" hands of the US Postal Service or are already where they should be. So, it's looking good for a stress-free Christmas.

Which means it's probably time for Emperor Bush The Second to bomb something.

To get you in the proper Christmassy mood, here's a lovely festive story for all my friends:

It is three thousand light years to the Vatican. Once, I believed that space could have no power over faith, just as I believed that the heavens declared the glory of God's handiwork. Now I have seen that handiwork, and my faith is sorely troubled. I stare at the crucifix that hangs on the cabin wall above the Mark VI Computer, and for the first time in my life I wonder if it is no more than an empty symbol.

I have told no one yet, but the truth cannot be concealed. The facts are there for all to read, recorded on the countless miles of magnetic tape and the thousands of photographs we are carrying back to Earth. Other scientists can interpret them as easily as I can, and I am not one who would condone that tampering with the truth which often gave my order a bad name in the olden days.

Read the rest of the story (don't worry, it's a short one) here. And because there's been a certain amount of confusion over these things in the past, I want to make it clear that I didn't write this story. Okay.